10 Youth Rated Films at Vancity Theatre This Feb.

February is a great month because we were able to obtain a whopping 10 ratings for films screening at Vancity Theatre. We are very excited to be hosting this many screenings in which youth are welcome to attend, so we encourage you to bring your little’uns with you! Read the short descriptions and scroll down for trailers and ticket links. To see the series list on our website, click here.

First off is the beautifully hand-drawn film Song of the Sea from the filmmaker who brought you The Secret of Kells. This Irish tale is about Saoirse, a little girl who escapes from her grandmother’s home to journey to the sea and free fairy creatures trapped in the modern world. The film has been nominated for Best Feature Animation at the 2015 Academy Awards. Song of the Sea, Rated: G

Tale of the Princess Kaguya, is another animated feature up for an Academy Award this year. It tells the story of an old bamboo cutter and his wife who find a tiny princess (Kaguya) inside a shining stalk of bamboo. The mysterious young princess enthralls all who encounter her and the film is a visually stunning work of art. Rated PG.

From the moment of its first appearance, at the Cannes Film Festival in 1959—where it won the Palme d’Or—it was clear that Black Orpheuswas a very special film. Taking the ancient Greek myth of a youth who travels to the land of the dead to bring back the woman he loves, and transporting it to the slums of modern day Rio de Janeiro, this bittersweet romantic tragedy has charmed audiences the world over with its beauty, color, and—above all—its music. Rated: PG

King: A Filmed Record from Montgomery to Memphis, is the landmark documentary that chronicles the life and work of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., from the beginnings of the Civil Rights movement in Montgomery, Alabama, and culminating with his assassination in Memphis in 1968. The film is an indispensable primary resource of a pivotal moment in American and world history.Rated: G

The Wrecking Crew (February 21st screenings ONLY). The Beach Boys, Elvis, Frank Sinatra, Nate King Cole and many more. Behind their success was a group of studio musicians called The Wrecking Crew. What the Funk Brothers did for Motown… The Wrecking Crew did, only bigger, for the West Coast Sound. Six years in a row in the 1960s and early 1970s, the Grammy for “Record of the Year” went to Wrecking Crew recordings. And now, The Wrecking Crew documentary tells the story in pictures and that oh, so glorious sound. Rated: PG

Oscar Animated Shorts – Live Action, Rated: PG & Oscar Animated Shorts –Animation, Rated: GShort and sweet! Both the Live Action and Animation shorts segments are a collection of the best short films of the year up for the prestigious Academy Award. Let us know which one you enjoyed the most!

Filmed over three years with the participation of 30 countries around the world,Awake: The Life of Yogananda, examines the world of yoga, modern and ancient, east and west and explores why millions today have turned their attention inwards, bucking the limitations of the material world in pursuit of self-realization. This film is a “vivid, elegantly assembled portrait of the savvy guru with the cherubic face and penetrating gaze who brought meditation to the West.” — Michael Rechtschaffen, LA Times. Rated: G

In January 2013, filmmaker Laura Poitras was in the process of constructing a film about abuses of national security in post-9/11 America when she started receiving encrypted e-mails from someone identifying himself as “citizen four,” who was ready to blow the whistle on the massive covert surveillance programs run by the NSA and other intelligence agencies. Citizenfour is, “tense and frightening … a primal political fable for the digital age.” — New York Times, Rated: PG

Keep On Keepin’ On is “a heartfelt, uplifting tale that celebrates the joy of life and the triumphs of succeeding against all odds. The film stands as a loving tribute to the affable 93-year-old Terry, who performed in the bands of both Count Basie and Duke Ellington and seems to have influenced just about every jazz giant on the planet … One need not be a jazz aficionado to enjoy this film. All that’s required is a smile.” — David Lewis, San Francisco Chronicle. Rated: PG